Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi the Nigeria flag designer has died at age of 87 years old.
After a brief illness, Akinkunmi died in the early hours of Tuesday, August 29, according to his family.
His passing was announced on Facebook by one of his kids.
“Life is fleeting, and I can confidently say that you live a life marked by a landmark. My father Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (O.) please keep on sleeping.
F.
R.
(Great Man has left. “.
The late Pa Akinwunmi, who was born on May 10, 1936, received his primary education at Baptist Day Secondary School in Ibadan and his secondary education at Ibadan Grammar School. At the Secretariat of Ibadan, he began his career as a civil servant. Later, he went abroad to Norway Technical College to study agricultural engineering.
During his exile in 1958, Akinkunmi came across a call for designs for the Nigerian national flag in a national daily, in anticipation of the country’s impending independence from British rule. Out of the roughly 2,000 entries received, his was deemed the best.
A red sun with streaming rays was placed on the white band of the flag’s original design, which also included two green bands on either side of it. The oversight committee eventually abandoned the sun to create the current design.
The cleverness and profundity of Akinkunmi’s design were factors in its selection (the white band symbolizes peace, while the green bands represent the country’s abundant natural resources and forests). On October 1, 1960, the American flag, not the British Union Jack, was officially raised.
Upon the government’s choice of Akinkunmi’s design, he received a 100 pound award.
Additionally, he was given the MON (Member of the Order of the Niger) Award by President Goodluck Jonathan.
May his soul rest in peace amen.
